Dielectrophoretic Manipulation of Cells by Using Interdigitated Microelectrodes

Commonly, microelectrodes used in microfluidics are made from copper, Au or Pt. They are difficult to fabricate and the cost is relatively high. Thus, we designed and fabricated a novel microelectrode made from silicon for it is cheap and easy to fabricate. It has been proven that cells can be manipulated by dielectrophoresis force producing on interdigitated electrodes. In addition, the direction and velocity of cell motion could be controlled by altering the voltage and frequency. The interdigitated electrodes consist of linear and spiculate electrodes. After human hepatocarcinoma SMMC-7721 cells in PBS were dropped on microchip, they were attracted to electrodes with a velocity up to 45 mus, which is large enough to flow across the channel. This kind of electrodes can also be used for cell engineering, such as cell fusion and cell electroporation.